2.  A national student organization for career and technical education schools  Founded in 1965  Has developed 8.5 million workers  Endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education  Mission: To help its members become world- class works and responsible American citizens.

3.  SkillsUSA has approximately 15,000 school chapters  54 state and territorial associations  300,000 members  16,000 instructors and administrators

4.  SkillsUSA benefits students by: ◦ Teaching teamwork & leadership ◦ Reinforcing employability skills ◦ Offering a national contest program ◦ Providing ways to serve the local community ◦ Offering $1 million in scholarships annually ◦ Helping students meet potential employers  Students taking CIS260 – Capstone Course ◦ Students in this class must either do 20 hours of Community Service or compete in SkillsUSA

5.  The CIS department competes in: ◦ Computer Programming (Java or C#) ◦ Web Design (2 person teams) ◦ Technical Computer Applications (General computer knowledge)  There are also non-technical contests: ◦ Public speaking ◦ Job interview ◦ Skill demonstration ◦ Etc… ◦ See http://www.skillsusa.org/compete/contests.shtmlhttp://www.skillsusa.org/compete/contests.shtml

6.  A sign up sheet will be available starting next week through October 1 st  You must know which contest area(s) you are wanting to compete in when you sign up.  There is a dues charge of $11 for the year. ◦ Paid at the cashiers office ◦ Can be paid with the OTC card

7.  Please contact your SkillsUSA advisor: ◦ Tiffany Archer ◦ Office: NKM 223 D ◦ Email: archert@otc.edu